Fix pensions now

For nearly an entire General Assembly session, legislators have wrestled with public pensions and, so far, pensions are winning the match. To borrow a colorful verb from Sen. Damon Thayer, we are stupefied that he and other Senate leaders are content to wait another year to address the "pension problem" - the massive unfunded liability. Every month, the KERS non-hazardous fund creeps closer to insolvency. The fund has $2.9 billion in assets and pays out nearly $860 million in benefits each year.

It could run out of available assets to pay current benefits in three years. Those obligations won't magically disappear. They have to be paid as a matter of law. Instead of getting the job done, the Senate has held hostage a funding solution to get what it wants in so-called pension "reform." Taxpayers need to understand one central point - tweaking retirement benefits does nothing at all to address the approaching fiscal Armageddon. Indeed, the Kentucky Public Pensions Task Force's own hand-picked anti-defined benefit consultants said that the state could eliminate all retirement benefits for new hires and still not save much money on the unfunded liability.

The hole is that deep. If the legislature were students, we would urge them to "concentrate on task." Come back in the final two days of the session and pass a bill that identifies a revenue solution to the unfunded liability. Don't wait for an expensive, unnecessary special session to do the right thing for Kentucky's taxpayers.

JIM CARROLL

Frankfort, Ky. 40601

Thanks to Heleringer

Many thanks to former state representative, Bob Heleringer, for putting such a human face, in last Sunday's Forum article, on the needs of many veterans and other seniors in nursing homes. His perspective is so timely and strategic, given the current efforts by industry lobbyists, in the current legislature, to water down accountability for abuse and neglect in these care facilities.

How can we not agree that the "Greatest Generation" deserves much better than many are getting? The Kentucky Council of Churches also deserves much credit for its ongoing efforts in making this case through its executive director, the Rev. Dr.Marian Taylor.

GARY E. PENNINGTON

Louisville 40205

End air ball chant

I was disappointed to see that the Kentucky legislature adjourned another session without making it a misdemeanor to yell, "AIR BALL! AIR BALL!" at any basketball game in the commonwealth.

PAUL ZURKUHLEN

Louisville 40207

1953 inauguration parade

While watching the inauguration parade for President Obama in January, it brought back a great memory from 60 years ago, when I was a member of the Louisville Male High School marching band, and had the privilege of representing the state of Kentucky in President Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration parade in Washington. Just recently, one of my former band associates passed away, and in his obituary, it was included the fact that he was part of that parade. I wonder just how many of our 1953 band assembly might still be around.

In any event, after all of these years, I realize that I do not have a single picture of our band at the event. I sent a message to the principal of Male High asking if they might have such a picture or pictures in their archives, but have not heard anything back on my request.

I would very much like to find out if there is anyone who might read this that might have a picture or two that I can have reproduced and add to my collection. Certainly this would be a great item to add to my assorted memoirs collected over the years.

I might add that one of my closest friends, going back to high school days in the early '50s, and also a member of the band, reminded me that while we were on the train ready to head back to Louisville that we also saw Harry and Bess Truman standing on a platform.